


Love in the Springtime

by Gnomecat



Category: Homeland
Genre: Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-13 17:03:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14752826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gnomecat/pseuds/Gnomecat
Summary: As the title suggests this is an unashamedly happy story about a week in the life of Quinn, Carrie and Franny :-)Chapter 3 is new!!!! Now complete. 03-June.





	1. Ready for it?

**Author's Note:**

> What happens here definitely doesn’t fit into canon- I’m leaving the date and time unknown. Who knows what has happened in their lives for them to end up at this point in time. Did they stay together after S4? Did they hook up in early S2? Did they meet much later in life? Who knows…
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it because I had fun writing it.
> 
>  
> 
> To elim_garak and nikitasunshine- thank you for proof reading this chapter and giving me some great suggestions :-) EG used her wording wizardry to help me improve certain sections. You guys are the best…. xx

“Take the shot, take the shot.”

 

The words screamed through his mind but no sound came out of his mouth. Adrenaline surged through his veins. His hands clenched into fists. His whole body tensed. He almost couldn’t bear to look away but his eyes flickered towards the clock. Time was running out. There were only seconds to spare…. Everything depended on this….. There was only one more chance….

 

Time seemed to freeze, he held his breath, and then his heart jolted. It was right on target. A perfect shot!

 

 

GOAL!!

 

 

The crowd around him erupted into cheers and he felt himself being jostled from side to side by their excited movements. He shouted out too, but tried to hold the camera steady as he followed the celebrations on the pitch in front of him. He could just about see a glimpse of red hair but the team captain of the Little Lioness Soccer Team was now completely enveloped underneath a pile of the rest of her ecstatic teammates.

 

Another glance at the clock confirmed there were only 2 minutes and 24 seconds left of the match and he held his breath as the game re-started. Once again his eyes flickered between the pitch and the scoreboard until the final seconds ticked down 5-4-3-2-1. The shriek of the referee’s whistle pierced the air and he was almost overcome with a mixture of first relief and then elation. He punched the air. 3-2! They’d done it. They were in the final!

 

Franny was now being held aloft by her teammates and paraded around the field. She looked towards the crowd and began waving her hands wildly as she spotted him immediately. She knew exactly where he was standing. He felt a huge burst of pride as he waved back and gave her the thumbs up. 

 

Turning off the video recording, he snapped a photo and tapped out a quick message. “Franny did it! They won! She scored the winning goal. Got it all on camera. x” Send. He waited a few moments but there wasn’t an immediate reply. He stuffed the phone back into his pocket as Franny came running over. He was going to need both hands for what was coming next.

 

She screeched to a halt in front of him and he smiled at her wild hair and mud streaked face.

“Excellent match. Well done.” He maintained a serious look on his face as he held out his hand for her to shake.

Her expression was just as calm. “Thank you. It was a good game. Everyone played their best and the other team put up a good defence.”

There was a pause. He knew what was coming next.

“But what can I say? We’re the best!” She shrugged in mock modesty but her face broke into a wide grin and she did a little dance.

“The absolute best!” He grinned back. “Are you ready for it? High five! Up high…” He held up his left hand and she high fived it back as hard as she could before holding out both of her hands for a low five. He linked fingers with her, lifted her right hand up high and twirled her around in a circle. She grabbed his hand and he ducked low as she twirled him around too. They faced each other again and she flipped back her hair as he mimicked doing the same. As always they burst out laughing. It was a well-rehearsed routine.

 

“You were brilliant Franny. You all were. Absolutely brilliant and the goal was amazing. The goalkeeper didn’t stand a chance!”

“Thanks! We did it! We’re in the final! Woooo! Yessss!” She cheered and continued her little victory dance.

“I think your team wants you back. “ He pointed to the pitch where the coaches were calling for all the girls to come back for their post-match discussion. “I’ll wait for you by the car. Remember…”

“I know, I know. No mud in the car! Back in a bit!”

He watched as she ran back to the group- aeroplaning her arms and swooshing from side to side as she went.

 

 

He decided to grab a cup of coffee while he waited and then sat down on a bench a little distance from everyone else and replayed the video showing Franny’s moment of triumph. She really was an amazing player. From expertly controlling the long cross from her best friend Lucy, to skilfully outmanoeuvring the defence, to effortlessly tapping the ball past the goalkeeper- it was perfect. Just perfect. Feeling his heart nearly burst with pride, he sat back, sipped his coffee and couldn't resist playing it a second time.

 

His phone vibrated and he opened up the new message. “Excellent! Give her a hug from me. (Smiley emoji).” His phone blipped again. “This meeting is a fucking disaster. I can’t believe I had to miss the game for this.” There was a pause and then another message. “Is Franny upset?”

He tapped out a quick reply. “I think she’s ok. You haven’t missed any of the other games.”

The reply to that was a smiley face. A minute passed before the next message. “If Evans says ‘essentially’ one more time I’m going to ‘essentially’ stick my foot up his ass.”

 He laughed. “Ha ha. Almost done?”

This time there was a longer gap of a few minutes before her reply. “Sorry. Harris is an idiot. I fucking hope so. I’ll text when I’m done.”

 

 

“Boo!” Twenty minutes later Franny, now happily mud free, appeared in front of him making him jump. “Did you talk to mom? Did you tell her the score? Is she totally bored in that meeting? Can I get an ice cream? With extra sprinkles?”

“Yes. Yes. She’s very proud of you. Yes, yes and yes.” He counted off the yesses on his fingers before reaching into his pocket and handing her some money. “Get me a scoop too. Chocolate.”

“Duh!”

 

 

The soccer pitch was next to a park with a large lake and there were numerous trails snaking out to surrounding woodland. It was one of his favourite places and the three of them had spent many lazy afternoons strolling around the lake or having picnics in the park. There were so many good memories- just last weekend they had been here flying home-made kites. There wasn’t a breath of wind in the air today though. The sky was bright blue, there wasn’t a single cloud in sight, and he could see the inviting shimmer of the lake in the distance.

Franny returned with two large pots of ice cream completely covered in pink sprinkles.

“Is there any ice cream in here?” He teased, poking it with the spoon. “Come on, let’s go and eat them by the lake.” 

 

 

It really was a beautiful day. Spring was in the air, and the blossom on the trees, and the flowers dotted about the grass created a canvas of colours. The sunlight glistened off the lake and they stood for a moment eating ice-cream and watching the ducks glide around in pairs.

 

“Look ducklings! They’re so cute!” Franny pointed with her spoon.

“Very cute,” he agreed. “Do you want to go for a walk while we wait for mom?”

“Sure!” She linked arms with him and they walked in companionable silence.

 

 

It wasn’t like Franny to be quite so quiet though and he was just about to ask her what was on her mind when she poked him on the arm.

“Soo…”

“Soo what?” He asked after a pause when it was clear she wasn’t going to finish her sentence.

“Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

He studied her face for clues but she held his gaze and the innocent look on her face didn’t falter. His heart began to beat a little bit faster. There actually was something important he needed to talk to her about but she couldn’t _possibly_ know what that was. Unless Max…. no he wouldn’t tell. So what was it she thought she knew? He racked his brain. Think. Think. But it was useless. Now that the real topic was in his head he couldn’t think about anything else.

He stalled. “Actually, yes. I’ve been thinking we should start planning a vacation for later in the year. Do you have any ideas about where you want to go?”

“Oh yay! I do. But that’s not what I’m talking about now.”

“Umm, well I don’t know then. I haven’t forgotten about your science project. Do you want to start working on it this weekend?”

“No! Aarg! You’re stalling!” Franny sighed in impatience, blew a strand of hair away from her face and stamped her foot a little. He couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes she was so much like her mother it was uncanny. He stayed silent and looked at her, raising his eyebrow a few millimetres.

Clearly recognising his silence tactic and knowing from experience that he wouldn’t budge, she huffed again in exasperation. “You’re impossible! Ok. Last Tuesday…”

At that word his heart began to pump even faster. Oh crap…

“…Lucy had the afternoon off school for a dancing thing. She was with her mom and she saw you looking in the window of the jewellery store. She saw you go in and then come out with a small bag. What did you buy?”

Double crap. She did know. His heart was now beating double time and he took a deep calming breath. He wasn’t sure he was ready for this conversation but he also didn’t want to lie to her.  

“Let’s sit.” He motioned to a bench. A hoard of ducks waddled over and gathered expectantly at their feet but they both ignored them.

“Ok. Well. I...“ He paused and swallowed. He hadn’t said this out loud very often and it was something he still found difficult to say. “I….love your mom very much and…” He didn’t get any further. Franny jumped up and let out an ear splitting screech of excitement. The ducks flapped away in horror. “I knew it! You _are_ going to ask her to marry you! You’re getting married!”

 

“Ssshh! Sit down.” He glanced around and noticed several curious faces turned in their direction. His cheeks felt like they were on fire and he grabbed her arm to gently pull her back to a seated position on the bench.

“Yes… well I hope so. Hey look Franny…” He took a deep breath. “I clearly underestimated your investigative abilities. I didn’t want you to find out about it like this. You’re ok with this right?” He had to ask but didn’t really need to. The answer was written all over her face.

“Duh! Of course I want you to ask her. Of course!” Franny stood up again and began jumping around. “Am I going to be a bridesmaid? When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? Can I be there? Can I see the ring?”

“Calm down, calm down. She hasn’t said yes yet!”

“She will, she will!” Franny sat down again.

“I want to wait for the right moment and I definitely want to keep it simple. I’ll probably cook her a nice dinner and then…” He stopped talking when he saw the look of sheer disappointment on her face. “Ok, tell me. What ideas do you have?”

“Well….” Franny instantly adopted the classic ‘thinking hard’ pose and tapped her fingers on her chin.  At that moment a small plane flew low over the lake, distracting them with the loud buzzing noise. Franny’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I know! Why don’t you hire a plane and write the words in the sky! Marry me!” She shouted the last part.

“Uh…” Once again he felt a flush of embarrassment and slumped down in his seat to try to hide from the inevitable curious stares. “That's....interesting....I certainly wasn’t expecting that suggestion.”

“I’ve got so many good ideas!” Franny was back on her feet and twirling around. “You could buy a puppy and tie a ring to its collar?!”

“No, I’m not doing that!”

“A kitten?”

“No!” He laughed. “No planes and no animals. Try to think simple.”

Franny sighed as if he was the most boring man in the world. “How about a picnic then?  Right here by the lake?”

“That’s a nice idea. I really do want to keep it simple. I don’t want the whole world to know. I want to keep it just for us. I don’t need a grand gesture to prove how much I love her.”

“Oh…ok.” Franny’s voice trailed away and she sat back down and rested her head on his shoulder. “If you say it like that then simple is nice too. I’m so happy,” she whispered.

“Me too.” He ruffled her hair a little and noticed she had tears in her eyes. His eyes began to twitch too and he wiped a hand across his face to hide the evidence.

 

 

His phone buzzed. “Meeting over. I didn’t have to stick my foot up anyone’s ass.”

He grinned. “Come on, that’s our signal. We need to get going…” He reluctantly got to his feet and extended a hand to pull her up too. “Can I trust you to keep this a secret for now?”

Franny smiled and enthusiastically mimed zipping her mouth shut. “My lips are sealed. But you better ask her soon or I might burst!”

“Duly noted.” He was feeling energised. Franny’s excitement was infectious and he was feeling excited too. There would certainly be no planes, puppies, kittens or any other shenanigans but at some point in the very near future he was going to ask her to be his wife. A tingle of excitement ran through his body. He couldn’t wait

 

 

 

 

 

 

.


	2. Sparks Fly

The next week stretched by slowly. Franny’s mouth might have been ‘zipped shut’ but she was noticeably buzzing with excitement and clearly had weddings on the brain. On Monday she had ‘Love Story’ in her head and sang _“It’s a love story, baby just say yes”_ on a loop over and over from breakfast to dinner. 

 

By Tuesday the song was stuck in his head as well. Luckily, Carrie didn’t seem to notice or at least didn’t comment on it. After all, it wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary for Franny to have a song in her head one day and for all of them to be humming it the next. 

__

At least her excitement could be explained by the anticipation of the big match next Saturday. The Cup Final. The Little Lionesses versus The Sharks. “Go Lionesses, let me hear you roar! We’re gonna send those Sharks back to the sea shore!” Equally maddening, the Little Lioness chant looped around his head too.

__

 

__

On Wednesday Carrie was working late, and Franny used the opportunity to bombard him with more questions and ideas. He could learn to dance. He could serenade her with a song. He could write her a poem. Her imagination seemed to have no bounds and her excitement was infectious.

__

He laughed along with all her ideas, but was also worried. What if Carrie didn’t say yes? Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for Franny to know about this in advance. At least then if she said no they could….. 

__

“Can I ask you something?” Franny interrupted his thoughts.

__

“Sure…” he replied cautiously. 

__

“Why now?”

__

“Why now?” He repeated slowly to give himself time to think. 

__

“Yeah. You’ve been together for, like, a million years. So why now?”

__

“Well,” he struggled to find a way to explain it, although it was very clear in his mind. “It was at Maggie and Bill’s anniversary party. Uncle Bill’s speech was so moving right?” 

__

Franny nodded vigorously in agreement. 

__

“And I just realised I wanted that too. It’s silly but…” 

__

Franny shook her head. “It’s not silly. It’s sooo romantic.” 

__

“Hmm.” He allowed his mind to wander back to the events of two weeks ago. Towards the end of the evening, when admittedly more than a little bit of alcohol had been consumed, Bill had stood up in front of the entire party and given an emotional speech. He had talked about the highs, the lows, the ups and the downs of married life but how he wouldn’t have changed a thing and how much he loved his wife. Maggie had stood up too and through floods of tears had given a beautiful speech back to him. 

__

He smiled when he recalled how, at the start of Bill’s speech, Carrie had nudged him and made it clear how cringe-worthy she thought the whole thing was. At that point in time he had absolutely agreed with her and they had continued to smirk and nudge each other for the first few minutes. 

__

But after the initial instinct to laugh, something had changed. Listening to the lovely speeches and looking at their faces, beaming with love and happiness for each other, he had become overcome with such a surprising wave of emotion that he felt like he had been kicked in the chest. When Ruby and Josie had jumped up at the end to hug their parents the dam had burst and he found himself crying along with everyone else. He had almost been afraid to look over at Carrie to see her response but when he did he could see how emotional she was too, and how embarrassed she was for showing it. She had tried to hide her face behind her hands, but he had gently taken her hands from her and kissed her. Once they'd pulled apart she hid her face in his shoulder. He had wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest, and knew he never wanted to let go.

__

That was the moment he realised he had been living in the present- only thinking about each day as it came. But now, for the first time, he was thinking about the future and how he wanted them to grow old together. Over Carrie’s shoulder he had watched Franny running around with her cousins and he hoped that by that time they would be surrounded by several grandkids too. And just like that there was no doubt in his heart. He was ready. He wanted it - all of it - with her, as his wife.

__

 

__

“I saw you guys dancing.” Franny interrupted his thoughts again.

__

At the very end of the evening they had kicked off their shoes and danced barefoot outside on the wet grass under the stars. Her head on his shoulder, his hand resting on the small of her back, and both of them absolutely oblivious to everyone else around them.

__

“Yeah. What was the name of the song? Taylor Swift wasn’t it?” He knew exactly what song it was though.

__

As he’d slowly twirled her around to the strains of Sparks Fly, feeling (through the warm buzz of his alcohol dulled mind) like the lyrics could have been written just for them, he had almost dropped to one knee in the middle of the garden and asked her right there and then. 

__

“Yess, Sparks Fly. I picked it. I made the playlist. It was my choice.” 

__

Hmm. He’d figured as much. “Well that was it. That was the moment.” 

__

Franny sighed, dramatically clutched her chest, and flopped backwards in an exaggerated faint. She only stayed still for a second before sitting bolt upright again.

__

“Why didn’t you ask her right then?” 

__

He smiled. She was very perceptive. “Well. It’s what you said earlier. You’re right. We have been together ‘like a million years’. I wanted to do it properly and give her a ring.”

__

“Oh can I see it? Can I see the ring?” Her eyes lit up.

__

“Sure.” As he walked up the stairs to fetch it from its hiding place a small stab of doubt hit him. Perhaps he shouldn’t have waited. He should have just seized the moment and asked her then. 

__

But then he remembered her tear stained face as she watched the speeches, and the feel of how tightly she held him afterwards. He knew she wanted this as much as he did. They hadn’t missed their moment, the future was bright and there were going to be plenty more opportunities. He just had to be patient…. and Franny had to be patient too.

__

 

__

“Wow.” Franny turned the ring over and over in her hand and angled it towards the light to admire the way it sparkled. “Wow, it’s so pretty. Good choice.”

__

He smiled and put the ring back carefully in the box.

__

“I really think you should do it this weekend. I think I might actually burst if you wait any longer!”

__

“Oh. Are you excited? I really can’t tell!” he said with a wink, poking her arm affectionately. “Seriously Franny. You’re making me nervous. Please try to stay calm and don’t get your hopes up too high. This decision is one we both have to make, and if for whatever reason she doesn’t want to get married I don’t want you to be worried or feel disappointed. Nothing will change for me, for us all, if she says no.”

__

Franny looked back at him with a serious look on her face. “She won’t say no. I promise you.”

__

He wasn’t sure what to say. “Come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms. 

__

She hugged him back tightly. “I’m so excited though. It’s so hard. I can’t help it. Every time I look at the two of you I want to laugh!” 

__

“Try focusing on your breathing,” he suggested, pulling away. “If you start thinking about how excited you are then try to think about something boring like homework or chores.”

__

“I’ll try...” She grimaced. “I’m thinking about my History homework right now. Can you tell?” She wiped away a pretend tear.

__

“Good. Well while it’s on your mind why don’t you get started on it? Then we can watch a movie. Your choice.”

__

“Enchanted.” No hesitation. 

__

“Of course…” he replied with a small sigh.

__

 

__

She stayed quiet for about 5 minutes. Then….

__

 

__

“Tell me again how you two met.”

__

“It was at work. You know that. It’s a bit of a boring story.”

__

“Was it love at first sight?”

__

“Well…..”

__

“You thought she was annoying.”

__

“Umm….”

__

“She thought you were an ass!”

__

“Franny! Language!” But he smiled. “Yes. And I probably was.”

__

“But then you fell in love.” Franny sighed and doodled a heart in her notepad.

__

“Yes… and that’s about it…that’s pretty much the whole story.”

__

Franny sighed again and drew a few more hearts. “It’s so romantic. Tell me again about your first date.”

__

She had heard this story many times before but he told it again. “Well…It wasn’t really a date. I persuaded her to come with me on an early morning jog around the lake.”

__

“You’re so brave!” Franny laughed. “She’s really not a morning person!”

__

“Right, well, I know that now! But yeah. I was pretty insistent. I described how beautiful the sunrise was and how she had to see it.”

__

“And that didn’t work.”

__

“Nope. So I told her that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with me anyway and she was just afraid of looking unfit.”

__

“You knew her so well!”

__

“Right. So I raced her to the viewpoint...”

__

“And you let her win?”

__

“No.. It was a pretty even race. We stood and watched the sunrise, and without even thinking about it I took her in my arms….” His voice faded away as he got lost in the memory all over again.

__

Franny sighed again. “Sooo romantic.”

__

“Mmm-hmm” he murmured. “Now, come on. You need to get back to your homework.”

__

With an exasperated sigh this time Franny turned back to her book, and he found himself lost in thought again. He started thinking about everything that had happened for them to get to this point in time. It was really quite remarkable that they were still here and still together. It certainly wasn’t always rainbows and roses. It was a very unconventional love story. But it was theirs.

__

 

__

“She’s going crazy with excitement.” He said to Max on Thursday night, sipping his pint of beer. “She’s singing songs and talking about me learning to dance. We watched Enchanted yesterday and she wanted me to consider wearing some sort of fairy-tale prince costume with buttons and a big sword.”

__

Max snorted and let out a burst of laughter. “Franny is hilarious. You? Singing a song?” He kept laughing. “Good movie though.”

__

“Actually it’s alright.”

__

“But seriously don’t break out into song. You want Carrie to say yes, not run for the hills holding her ears!” Max held his hands up to his ears and mimed screaming.

__

“Hey!” He was mildly offended. “But seriously. It’s nice that she’s so excited, but I’m worried that she’s getting her hopes up. What if Carrie says no? I’ll be fine with that but….”

__

“Carrie is not going to say no.” Max interrupted, firmly shaking his head. 

__

“I wish people would stop saying that. And by people I mean you and Franny.”

__

“Well stop thinking that.”

__

They sat in silence for a few moments.

__

“So when are you gonna do it?” 

__

“Saturday, after the match. I don’t think I can trust Franny to stay silent much longer. She keeps threatening to burst and I believe her. You’re coming to the match and the picnic afterwards, aren’t you?”

__

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But everyone is going to be there right? Maggie and her family, Franny’s friends. You ok with an audience?”

__

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to do it in front of everyone. I’ll find a moment to steal her away.”

__

“I think I know where to?”

__

“Yep, I think you probably do and I’ve got a plan. Wanna hear it?”

__

“Shoot.”

__

"Ok, but I think we're going to need another beer. And probably a chaser of whisky." 

__

“I’ll drink to that.” Max clinked his glass. “And good luck. Not that you need it.” 

__

 

__

“She will say yes, right?” He asked at the end of the night after quite a few whiskies. 

__

“She will. Or she’s mad.” Max clapped him on the shoulder. He had had quite a few whiskies too. “You’re the best.”

__

“No, you’re the best. You’re a great friend Max.”

__

They awkwardly looked at each other, stepped forward and then decided against a hug and went for another handshake instead. 

__

 

__

Friday morning was different. He watched in curiosity as Franny silently spooned cereal into her mouth in record time. She barely looked at him and focused entirely on her breakfast.

__

“Are you ok?” he asked.

__

“Mmm hhmmmm” she replied through a mouthful of cereal. “Fine.”

__

“Are you sure? You seem quiet.” That was an understatement.

__

“I’m ok. I’m just thinking about my homework and tomorrow... the game.” She added quickly. “I’m nervous I guess.”

__

“You’ll do great,” he assured her. “You guys are unbeaten. You beat The Sharks 2-1 last year. You scored both of those goals, remember?”

__

“No, I know… I’m just… nervous. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Franny cleared the final mouthful and jumped up. “Gotta go. Lucy is picking me up. Remember we have the extra practise and then I’m sleeping over at her house tonight.” 

__

“Yes, I remember. We’ll pick you up from her house tomorrow at 8.30am to take you to the match.” He said all of this to her retreating back as she ran towards the door. “Hey wait. Are you forgetting something?”

__

She skidded to a halt, turned and looked confused. “What?”

__

“My goodbye hug?”

__

“Oh.” She smiled and walked back to hug him. “Is that all you are worried about?” He whispered in her ear and looked over her shoulder. There was no sign of Carrie. “No other doubts?”

__

“Oh no. Absolutely not.” She pulled back, looked him in the eye and gave him a mysterious smile. “I can’t wait until tomorrow!”

__

He watched her skip down the path to the waiting car. Odd. He couldn’t shake the feeling, something seemed odd. 

__

“Do you think Franny was acting strangely just then?” He asked Carrie who had suddenly appeared in the doorway to wave goodbye and was now engrossed with her phone. “Carrie?”

__

“Huh? Oh. Um no. She seemed fine to me. Why do you ask?” She looked back at her phone. 

__

“No reason.” He shook it off. He had a lot of things he needed to get done today.

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to elim_garak for reading through this chapter and, once again, giving me so many great suggestions and ways to improve it. Any mistakes are mine :-) Hahaha. Look- I made double sure there was a full stop at the end this time!! 
> 
> Thanks xxx


	3. Long Live

He woke up with a jolt early on Saturday morning, clutching the bedsheets, his mouth dry and his heart racing in terror. All the after effects of a particularly vivid dream. He had been lost in the woods, ring in hand, shouting for Carrie who was somewhere ahead of him but always frustratingly out of sight. Just as he’d been about to catch up with her he had tripped and tumbled off the edge of a cliff, waking up in free-fall milliseconds before his dream self actually hit the gleaming waters of the lake below. The feeling of falling was very real and he lay still for a moment as reality washed over him. The realisation that it was just a dream didn’t really help his anxiety level. Today was the day. 

 

Carrie was snoring lightly next to him and he quietly got out of bed without disturbing her. There was a lot of food preparation to do and he felt charged with nervous energy as he bustled about the kitchen packing up the picnic lunch. The Little Lioness chant _“Little Lionesses, let me hear you roar!”_ looped around and around in his head. He felt slightly conflicted for having an alternative reason for wanting them to win today. What if they lost? 

The list of potential ‘what-ifs’ was a long one and he purposely tried to put the worrying thoughts aside and focus on the food instead. He set about making various different sandwiches to cater for all the fussy eaters. Franny liked chicken but not ham. Ruby liked ham and not chicken. Josie would only eat cheese. Franny hated cheese. Max liked peanut butter. Carrie didn’t eat bread crusts. It was amazing all the rubbish knowledge he had accumulated in his head.

He washed the strawberries, cut up some salad and put it into boxes, emptied almost everything else out of the fridge and tried to figure out how to pack it all into the cooler bag. Packing and repacking twice to make sure it all fit in without squashing anything into a weird shape. It was like Tetris, but less fun and the consequences of a bad action were real. He ate a particularly badly squashed banana to hide the evidence.

 

When he got back upstairs Carrie was just stirring. “Whazza time?” She mumbled.

“Almost 7.”

“Uurrg better get up. We’ve got a lot of food prep to do.”

“I’ve already done it lazybones.” He crawled back into bed and pressed his body against hers. “I can think of a much better way to spend our time…”

“Mmm. Do tell…”

But there wasn’t a lot of talking after that.

 

He waited until he could hear the shower running before daring to open the drawer hiding the ring. The box was wrapped inside a sock and pushed to the back- not that Carrie was very likely to look inside his sock drawer. He took one more look at it, admiring the way it sparkled. The sense of excitement hit him again and he couldn’t wait to put it on her finger. Lost in thought he was suddenly aware that the shower was now off. He snapped the box shut and had a momentary panic about where he was going to hide it. For just a tiny moment he considered hiding it inside the cake and laughed out loud imagining Franny’s face. His eyes fell on his jacket. Risky but it would have to do. He would have to remind her to pack a sweater to make sure he didn’t need to be chivalrous when it got cold.

Carrie emerged from the shower with a towel on her head. He must have looked guilty because she gave him a strange look. “Are you ok?”

“Fine.” He crossed the room and took her in his arms, breathing in the scent of her strawberry scented shampoo. He tugged on the towel a little. “Just fine.”

 

5-4-3-2-1.

The referee blew the final whistle and the crowd erupted into cheers. 3-1. They’d won and Franny had scored the hat trick! The celebrations on the pitch were similar to last week. The girls were screaming and once again Franny was paraded around the pitch on everyone’s shoulders. The difference was that this time he wasn’t surrounded by strangers- he was surrounded by family. Carrie on one side. Maggie and Bill on the other. Max on the other side of Carrie. Ruby and Josie in the front. All of them were screaming wildly and jumping up and down.

 

He turned to Carrie at the exact moment she turned to him and threw his arms around her as she did the same. He pulled back a little, held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. The whole world seemed to disappear around them and the words were on the tip of his tongue.. “Carrie…”

“We won!” The moment was interrupted as Franny appeared out of nowhere and jumped on top of them both.

“Well done. You were amazing.” They pulled apart a little and included her in a hug as they all jumped up and down.

“Look at the camera guys. Smile!” Maggie snapped a photo of the three of them before everyone else crowded in for the hug too.

 

The sun was high in the sky as the triumphant group made their way towards the grassy area by the side of the lake. Bill and Josie had scouted ahead and managed to find a good spot which covered everyone’s needs. It was close to the lake and it was half in the sun and half in the shade of a weeping willow tree. Everyone pitched in to clear away the sticks and twigs and check for ant nests before spreading out the brightly coloured blankets and arranging the food.

 

The lake was packed with people, most of them family or friends of the Little Lionesses, and by the end of the afternoon everyone was mingling together as one big party. Someone had organised a huge game of softball and as he stood waiting to bat he looked around for Carrie.

 

His phone buzzed and he glanced at the message before returning to scanning the crowd. He spotted Max first- walking away from the group and down the path towards the woods. Franny was sitting by the lake shore surrounded by her friends, and Carrie….. There she was. Sitting under the tree talking to her sister. Except at that exact moment Maggie stood up and walked away, leaving her on her own. He felt the now familiar sensation of his heart pounding in his chest.

It was his turn to bat, but he passed it along to the next person in line. “I’m done you guys, I’m taking a break.” 

 

“Hey you.” He flopped down onto the blanket next to her, lifted her sunhat slightly and gave her a kiss.

“Hi.” She smiled back. “Having fun?”

“Yes but I missed you. Wanna take a walk?” His heart began to beat out of control and he focused on his breathing.

“Sure!”

He hopped to his feet and extended his hand to pull her up, purposely tugging her hand a little too hard so she stumbled into him and put her arms around him. He twirled her around and kissed her. It was almost sunset, 25 minutes to be exact, and he was glad it was beginning to get a little bit chilly so he had an excuse to bring the jacket along. He handed her the sweater he’d packed for her and as he helped her into it carefully patted his pocket to make sure the ring box was still there. It was. 

 

Arms linked they made their way slowly down the path by the side of the lake leading towards the woods. As they walked he thought back to that early morning at this very place, so many years ago now, where all of this had started. He glanced over to Carrie and saw she had a small smile on her face too. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing.

 

He stopped just before the turn off to the path leading up to the small area of elevated ground overlooking the lake. “Oh, wait one sec,” he casually held out one hand to stop her and pulled out his phone with the other. “My phone buzzed. It’s just Max. Wondering where we are.” He tapped out a quick reply.

“Remember the first time we were here?” He asked as he jammed the phone back into his pocket.

“Of course.” Carrie looked distracted for a moment as a stick cracked somewhere nearby and then turned back to him.

“How many years ago was that now?”

“Too many. So what do you remember exactly?” 

“I remember a certain annoying person being very insistent that I get up ridiculously early to go for a sunrise jog and check out a view I ‘couldn’t miss.’"

“And then what happened.”

“You challenged me to a race. And I won!”

“And what else… “ He laughed.

“Maybe there was a kiss.”

“More than a kiss…”

“Hmm.” She leaned in and he playfully pushed her ahead of him. “Not here, let’s save it for the top.”

 

She laughed and started walking. “Looks like someone’s been doing some gardening up here,” she commented as they pushed their way up the steep path. “Someone has finally cut down those fucking stinging nettles.”

She had her back to him and couldn't see his grin.

“Oh!” She stopped dead at the top of the path and he almost bumped into her as she backed up. “I think we’re interrupting something here, look at all this.”

 

He peeked over her shoulder, even though he had a good idea for what he was about to see. The little area was clean and tidy, thanks to a gardening session yesterday afternoon when he had cut the grass, pulled up weeds and picked up the few items of trash. Now the whole patch of ground was lit up by a multitude of small tea light candles arranged in a heart shape which was filled in with rose petals. A small portable stereo sat on the wooden bench he had spent quite a bit of time polishing. 

“I think we’re in exactly the right place.” He gently propelled her forward to the edge of the heart.

“What the? What is this? Quinn? She turned to face him and he dropped to one knee. As much a necessity for his shaking legs as a desire to be romantic.

He had written down what he wanted to say and even discussed it with Max, but now with her there right in front of him the words just disappeared from his head. He wished he had his piece of paper with him. He could visualise the page in his mind- the beer stain at the top, the lines and lines of crossed out words written in blue pen and all the creases from where it had been in his pocket, but he couldn’t quite zoom in on the image to read what it said. His mind was blank.

He fumbled in his pocket to try to get the ring out and ended up getting his hand stuck in the fabric. As he wrestled his arm free he looked at her face and the look of complete shock written all over it.

“Marry me.” It was all he could say. He opened up the box and showed her the ring. Now his hand was shaking and he needed to use the other hand to steady it.

 

“Yes!” Her reply was immediate and she had a little laugh in her voice as she extended her hand. He tried to put the ring on her finger but found it difficult because her hand was shaking as much as his was. When it was in place they both stared in silence at the ring.

“I love you.” He broke the silence.

“I love you too.”

He kissed her hand and then got to his feet and pulled her towards him. He put his hand on her face and stared into her eyes before pulling her face towards his. He kissed her gently and then more deeply. Stroking his hand through her hair as her hand rested on his back. They stayed like that for a little while.

“Who did you get to set all this up?” She whispered.

“Max. I sent him up here armed with the candles and rose petals, a diagram of how to arrange it and a wad of money to bribe anyone else to leave.”

“And what’s the 80s stereo for? Where did you even find that? Hey, did you polish that bench too?”

“Yes!” He reluctantly pulled away. As he turned his back to her to press play he stealthily took out his phone and typed a new message to Max. He calculated they had about ten to fifteen minutes of alone time.

As the familiar song started to play out he walked towards her and held out his hand. “I started thinking about this at Maggie and Bill’s party. I know we’ve been together for a long time now and neither of us considered marriage to be… necessary…..” he paused and looked into her eyes which crinkled as she smiled back at him. “But listening to the speech and seeing the look on their faces made me feel quite emotional and I realised I wanted that too. I almost asked you right there as we danced on the grass. I almost got down on one knee but I wanted to wait because after all this time I felt I should get a ring and do it properly. Do you remember the song that was playing? I hope this isn’t too...cheesy!”

She laughed, but he could also see she had tears in her eyes. “A bit. You have the music taste of an 9 year old girl, but I don't mind at all.” 

She took his hand and pressed tightly against him as they slowly swayed in time to the music.

 

“I need to tell you something,” she said when the song ended and they pulled apart. She twirled the ring on her finger and made it sparkle in the sunlight. "That moment at Maggie and Bill’s changed something for me too. I mean, it was as cheesy as hell right? All that love and mush? Promise me that we won’t do something like that in 20 years time!” She paused and he laughed and nodded in agreement. “But it did get me thinking. I thought about the future, about growing old with you and all the key moments we have to look forward to. And I thought maybe….I mean we could do all that if we weren’t married… but what I’m trying to say is that…. I had the same thought as you. I was going to ask you.” Her voice trailed away.

“Great minds….” He couldn’t continue the sentence and wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his shoulder. His mind was suddenly full of images, culminating in a very clear one of the two of them, old and wrinkled with grey hair, sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch and arguing about whose turn it was to make the tea.

She pulled away slightly, reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Can you believe I wrote a whole speech. I actually spoke to Franny on Thursday night to see what she thought about it….”

“What?!” He interrupted. The shock of the first piece of information instantly eclipsed by the second. “What? You spoke to Franny about this on Thursday?! This Thursday? No wonder she was being so weird on Friday morning! She knew about my plans too. She found out last week. Lucy saw me buying the ring and Franny confronted me about it last Saturday after the game. I had to tell her the whole story. She’s been beside herself with excitement all week.” 

“Really?! She managed to keep it a secret all week?! I can’t believe she managed to keep a straight face. I didn’t suspect anything was up.”

“I know! You should have heard some of her suggestions. She wanted me to write the words in the sky or attach the ring to a puppy or kitten.”

“Write it in the sky?! I think she’s quite keen on the puppy thing because she mentioned that to me too.” Carrie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

“Well, maybe we should think about that.”

“I think my vote would go for the kitten.”

“Me too.”

Carrie laughed. “I can’t believe she already knew. She seemed so shocked when I told her but I guess that’s because she knew what you were thinking too. The look on her face…. I tried to tell her to calm down a little. I want to keep things simple. Just us. Close family and friends only.”

“That’s what I want too. Just us.” He kissed her again. And again. He couldn’t stop.

 

The sun was beginning to set and the sky was now a beautiful shade of red and orange. Wispy clouds, painted deep red by the sunlight, streaked across the sky and were reflected perfectly in the still waters of the lake below. They stood there for a little while longer, hand in hand, with her head on his shoulder. It was so peaceful and everything felt perfect… but there was just one thing which was missing. He looked at his watch. It shouldn’t be long now….

As if on cue there was a rustling sound on the path below them and the unmistakable sound of someone running up the hill.

Franny skidded to a halt in front of them, hair glowing in the last rays of the sun, completely out of breath with a wild look on her face. Her mouth was wide open as she looked at them expectantly but no words came out.

Carrie moved her hand and flashed the ring.

Franny let out an ear splitting shriek of excitement and threw herself into their arms. He held them both tightly. He’d never felt happier than this moment in time with the two people he loved most in the world wrapped tightly in his arms.

 

“I’m so happy for you guys.” Franny mumbled.

“I’m happy too.” He whispered back, feeling another lump form in his throat. He stole a look at Carrie and saw she was wiping away a tear. He looked away quickly.

 

They were all distracted by the sound of geese flying overhead and pulled apart to watch them land with a huge splash on the lake. As he looked up to the sky he noticed something strange. One of the wispy red clouds was distinctly heart shaped. Not only that but it had a vapour trail cutting through it which looked very much like Cupid’s arrow.

“Hey look at that cloud,” he pointed. “It looks like a heart. Looks like you got your wish about sky writing after all Franny.”

“Oh wow…” Franny’s mouth dropped open. “It’s perfect”

 

The three of them stood there for a while longer, watching the sun disappear into the lake and the first stars begin to appear in the darkened sky. Once the night had taken over, they blew out the twinkling candles, tidied up the petals, linked arms and walked back towards the lake.

 

Franny kept up a constant stream of chatter about dresses, cakes, flowers and the possibility of using an owl to deliver the rings at the ceremony.

“No,” he replied at the exact same moment that Carrie replied. “Absolutely not.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. You want to keep it simple. We’ll see.” Franny rolled her eyes.

He smiled at Carrie over the top of Franny’s head. “We’ll see.” He repeated with a smile. “Whatever happens it’s going to be a special day.”

 

 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end :-)
> 
>  
> 
> I couldn't figure out a way for Quinn to smuggle a puppy or kitten to the lake but Franny did kinda get her wish about sky writing. The puppy-kitten vote ended on a tie anyway. Me, InchbyInch, Quinn and Carrie for the kitten and elim_garak, nikitasunshine, Frangi and Franny for the puppy. :-)
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone for reading and commenting. I've had fun writing this and now want to move on to the next silly idea in my head. xx
> 
>  
> 
> To elim_garak and nikitasunshine: I love chatting to you guys. We have some fun conversations and some of them inspired certain parts of this (sky writing!) Thanks! :-)


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